By Jamar Younger | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- New legislation would help establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency
- One law would establish a cryptocurrency reserve fund
- Another seeks to regulate cryptocurrency kiosk operators
Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill on May 7 that will allow the state to establish a cryptocurrency reserve fund and account for unclaimed digital currency assets.
The bill was one of a series of cryptocurrency measures Hobbs signed into law that aims to establish a regulatory framework and address the virtual currency’s growing use among individuals and businesses.
The other laws include regulating cryptocurrency ATM operators to protect users from scams and prohibit municipalities from regulating computational power in a home.
Rep. Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler, introduced the legislation that will update the state’s unclaimed property laws to include cryptocurrency and create a Bitcoin and digital assets reserve fund for investment returns on the currency.
The state treasurer would be able to deposit 10% of digital assets into the state general fund upon legislative approval.
The law will allow abandoned digital assets to be delivered to the Department of Revenue in their native form instead of being liquidated and sent as money.
